Six Hours and Five Days
by Giselle
Summary: Response to Paula's 03/23/2002 Challenge (My first challenge response ;))
1. Chapter One

**Title:** Six Hours and Five Days

**Author:** Giselle

**Category:** Jake and Hamilton

**Rating:** PG-13

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Young Americans would I be writing fanfic?  No, I'd be writing EPISODES!

**Summary:** Response to _Paula's 03/23/2002 Challenge _posted at my website, written below.

*** It's the end of sophomore year.**

*** Jake is attending Rawley Boys Academy.**

*** Hamilton dumps Jake for another girl that attends Rawley Girls. His new girlfriend is going to another school for her junior year so he decides to go with her.**

*** Jake is very depressed so she decides go back to New York(he's already gone). On her way back she gets into a serious accident and the hospital calls Hamilton's house. His parents go to the hospital and Jake tells them the entire story.**

*** Kate takes Jake into their home to take care of her while she recovers.**

*** Jake enrolls in Rawley Girls, but when she leaves to go live in the dorms Dean Fleming and Kate ask her to stay in their house. They love her as if she was their own daughter.**

*** Cut to senior year. Bella is attending Rawley Girls on scholarship. You can put all the characters you want.**

*** Hamilton comes back to spend senior year at Rawley. You choose if he comes alone or with his new girlfriend.**

*** Jake becomes this perfect, beautiful girl whom everybody loves in the school.  There's a lot of guys in love with her, etc.**

*** Ham doesn't know that Jake lives in his house, so the first encounter must be something interesting.**

*** He's going to try to take her back, but remember that he betrayed her so...**

*** All the gang helps him.**

*** Must end in a happy way.**

*** Ham lives in his house, not in the dorms, that way they must see each other a lot.  All classes are co-ed.**

*** Jake's the only girl on the crew team.**

*** If you can, use some songs of Coldplay.**

*** Jake's dad can make an appearance(Her father doesn't want her, he wants her money or something like that) and turn Jake's world upside down again. Her mother comes to help her with that. A lot of support from the Flemings and the gang.**

*** Kate can help Hamilton to get Jake back.**

*** If you want to add some other situations, feel free to do so.**

**~Part One~**

"I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of school!" Jake Pratt said, while walking down the hall to her respective dorm room.  "What's more unbelievable," she continued, pulling Hamilton Fleming, resident sophomore class loner, into her room and shutting the door behind both of them, "is that I've been able to pull this off the entire year without getting caught."  Smiling she leaned in towards him, placing a soft kiss on his lips.  Pulling back from him and opening her eyes again she looked up at him.  "What's wrong Hamilton?  You've been acting weird for the last week and I'm really starting to think it's me."

The tension that had been running between them was nothing but noticeable over the passed few days and it was taking all Jake had in her to keep from blowing things out of proportion for the way Hamilton had been acting towards her.  It appeared as small, subtle things at first; a phone call canceling plans, extra homework needing attention.  Now it seemed Hamilton was using any excuse he could just to get away from her.

"Jake, we need to talk."  Hamilton looked down, sticking his hands inside of the pockets of his blue shorts.

"We need...to talk..."  Walking towards her window Jake looked out across the school grounds.  It had only been a year ago that she'd rode into New Rawley, ready to take on one of her craziest schemes yet - becoming a guy and attending an all-boys boarding school.  Now she was almost second-guessing her choice of staying, because of the one reason that kept her there in the first place.  "You know what kind of conversations start with 'we need to talk' Hamilton?" she asked without turning around.  "The same ones that almost always end with goodbye."

Hamilton winced at her cold words, knowing he probably full well deserved them.

"Please tell me I'm wrong," she stated quietly, turning back around to face him.

The only thing he could do was look anywhere but at her.  Something inside told him she'd see right through his wall if he let her look into his eyes.  So he stood there, saying nothing.

"Is it problems at home?" Jake asked, refusing to believe what she could feel was happening until she heard it coming from his own voice.  "If you're having trouble with school or anything you can talk to me Hamilton."

Slowly letting his eyes drift upward he looked at her.  How did he know she wouldn't let any of it slide?  How did he know she'd be the perfect friend?

Jake stumbled slightly when she caught his gaze.  It was so clear she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before now.  "You're in love with someone else."

"Jake..."

"Just don't Hamilton," she told him, doing her best to stay calm.

"I'm leaving tomorrow.  I'm going to another school next year."

Taking in a deep breath she released all the tension that had been building inside of her.  "So this isn't about another girl.  You were just afraid to tell me about the transfer."  She couldn't believe the amount of relief that began to wash over her.  Spending practically the entire week wondering what was wrong had obviously been playing tricks with her mind, and she was glad that was finally out.

"I..." Hamilton stared back towards the wall on his left.  Anywhere but towards where Jake was standing at that moment.

"This..." Jake was falling over her words.  She had been right all along.  "That's exactly what this is about, isn't it?  You're transferring schools so you can be with someone else.  So you can get away from me, from the rumors, from the insults."

"Jake, I can't..."

"Get out," she said, crossing her arms and tightening her jaw.

Hamilton held in the grimace he felt.  He deserved everything she could possibly throw at him right now and he knew it.  Nodding his head he turned back around, pulling the door open and leaving with a soft click.  How could he ever forgive himself for what he'd just done to his best friend?

**.  .  .**

"I can't believe I've spent the last year at that school just so I could be close to him," Jake told her friend, Bella Banks, as she took the cup of coffee that Bella held out to her.  "It's like everything I've done, all of the crap I've had to go through suddenly comes down to the fact that he's gone and I'm here alone."

"Did he say why?" Bella asked, sitting down in the window seat just opposite her and pulling her legs up to rest her chin on.  "I mean, this is Hamilton we're talking about."

"He didn't say anything Bella," Jake replied, taking a sip of her drink and resting her head back.  "He didn't even have the guts to voice it himself.  All he could do was look away and I knew it was true.  He left right after lunch.  Didn't even say goodbye, just left."

Bella looked at her friend, watching as she closed her tear-stained eyes.  "I'm so sorry Jake.  You don't deserve this...any of it."

Jake couldn't help the scoff that fell from her lips, "Maybe this is my penance for what I did.  For not being happy with my life the way it was."

"You can't honestly think that Jake," Bella replied, reaching over and taking her friend's hand.

"Can't I?  I mean, with all of the lying I've done can you honestly say I don't deserve this?" Jake asked, failing miserably to hold back her tears.

Leaning over Bella looked her friend in the eyes, "Yes, I can.  You are one of the best friends I've ever had.  Better than I could have ever imagined, especially you being a stuck-up Rawley snob," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood a little.  "If anything I think you deserve better than what you've been given.  Better than Hamilton, better than being stuck in boarding schools year after year, and better than being ignored by a mother that has no idea what she's been missing by not being around for you."  Reaching over she pulled the broken girl in front of her into a long, warm hug.  "Most of all you deserve to be happy."

"Thank you," Jake whispered to her friend.  After a few moments she pulled back, smiling and wiping the tears from her eyes.  "Anyway, I just wanted to stop in and say goodbye before I headed back home," Jake told her, standing up.

"Wait, you're leaving Rawley?" Bella asked worried that her friend wouldn't come back.

Jake smiled, trying to reassure her.  "For the summer at least.  I really need to get away from here for a little while, you know, think in my own surroundings."

"So you're coming back for the fall semester though?"  The last year had proven to have its ups and downs for the two of them, but she couldn't imagine loosing Jake as a friend.

"I'm not sure yet.  That's something I know I've got to figure out when I get home," she stated, pulling on her leather jacket.  "I'll call you though and keep you updated.  I promise I won't just disappear on you."

Bella walked with her to the front of the gas station, following her outside.  "You'd better not, or I'll be hunting you down."  Wrapping her arms around her friend she hugged her tightly, "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"Not nearly as much as I'm going to miss you," Jake said, hugging her back while she attempted to keep herself from crying again.

"I doubt that," Bella stated, chuckling.

"I guess I'll call you when I get to my house," Jake stated, pulling her helmet on and hopping onto her motorcycle.

Waving to her friend Bella watched as she kick started the engine of her bike, "Sounds like a plan."

Looking back at the gas station once more Jake brought her bike onto the quiet streets of New Rawley, ready for the first time in years to finally go home.


	2. Chapter Two

_See part one for disclaimer and such._

**~Part Two~**

"Steven?"  Kate Fleming paced around the room, turning over newspapers and magazines, hoping to find what she'd spent the last thirty minutes looking for.

"Yes?"

Tossing another unread issue of Home and Garden aside she walked to the foot of the stairs, "Have you seen my diamond earrings?  I can't seem to find them anywhere."

After a few seconds the dean of Rawley Academy walked out of his home office, holding up a small pair of earrings to show her.  "These ones?"

"Yes!  Thank you sweetie," she replied, taking them from him and giving him a quick kiss before proceeding to place them in her ears.

Just as she'd begun inserting the second one their phone began to ring, playing to be one more obstacle on their first real night away from text books and grading assignments.  "Could you get that Steve?  I still have to grab my shoes."

Heading down the stairs and into the kitchen, her husband picked up the phone, "Fleming residence."  After a few minutes of listening to the voice at the other end of the line he gave a quick thank you and set the receiver down.  "That was the hospital," he said, walking back into the living room and grabbing his coat off of the coat rack.  "One of the student has been in an accident and they need me to go down to the emergency room."

Kate looked over, startled from the position she was in of sliding her feet into the shoe in her hand.  "Are they alright?  Did they say who it was?"

Grabbing his wife's coat off of the coat hanger, Dean Fleming helped her slip it on, "They said that she would live, and they also said the name they got off of some history class notes in the bag said it was Jake Pratt.  Isn't that Hamilton's friend?"

"Yes, it is," Kate replied, shrugging into her coat and heading out the door.  "But it couldn't have been Jake if they said it was a female student."

"I'm guessing it must be a friend of his.  One he probably loaned the notes to," Steve replied, opening the car door for his wife.  "We'll just have to find out when we get there."

Kate watched as her husband climbed into the drivers side of their car and started the engine, "I suppose we will."

**.  .  .**

It was hard to mistake the familiar sights and smells of the Emergency Room as Steven and Kate Fleming walked in through the doors, heading straight for the receptionist's desk.  It was almost as if the hospital was busier during the late hours of the night than it was during the long hours of the day.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked, looking up from the small stack of paperwork that she had been organizing in the desk.

"Yes, I received a phone call about a student that was emitted here.  I'm Dean Fleming from the Rawley Academy School," he told the thin woman, stringing his coat over his left arm to hold there.

Looking through a few charts that had been hooked onto the wall she finally came across the right one.  "Here it is; Pratt, Jacqueline.  She's in room three hundred seven.  It's at the end of the hall to your left," she told them both, indicating towards a small dimly lit hallway to her right.

"Excuse me, did you say _Jacqueline _Pratt?" Dean Fleming looked at the woman, not certain he'd heard her right.

Looking up at him the nurse picked up the clipboard once again to inspect it.  "It says right here patient: _Jacqueline Pratt_," she replied, hanging the clipboard back up on the wall.

"Thank you," the dean told her, heading for the indicated room.

Following closely behind, Kate attempted to keep up with her husband's quick stride.  "You don't really think it could be Jake, do you?"

The dean clenched his jaw, turning the corner and stopping directly in front of the room.  "If it is...she's got a lot of explaining to do," he told her, practically growling under his breath.

"Steven..." Kate said, grabbing hold of his hand before he could turn the knob.  He looked over at her, slightly annoyed.  "You're staying out here until you calm yourself down.  You're going to scare the poor girl into an early grave if you go into that room demanding an explanation," she told him, putting herself in front of the door so that he couldn't go in.

"Kate, you're being unreas..."

"You go take a walk and get us some coffee, I think we're going to need it.  In the meantime I'll get things straightened out."  Pushing him back towards the lobby Kate gave him her best 'no nonsense' face.  "And you're not to set foot in this room until you have calmed down, is that clear?"

Mumbling to himself Steven Fleming turned around, striding back the way they'd just come.  "Of all the women I had to marry..."

Sighing inwardly to herself Kate tapped lightly on the door before letting herself into the small hospital room.

It was a single bedroom, larger than she might have supposed for the small town.  The doctor had been standing at the end of the bed, blocking her view from the patient as she walked in.  Turning around the doctor smiled in her direction, "Can I help you?"

"Yes," she told him, walking in and quietly closing the door, "I'm Kate Fleming from Rawley Academy.  I believe one of our students had been emitted to this room."

"Mrs. Fleming, I'm glad you got here so quickly.  Miss Pratt is doing quite well considering the conditions of the accident," he told her, standing up so that the girl was now in Kate's view.

Jake's eyes were staring wildly at her, fear creeping along every inch of her skin as she swallowed the large lump in her throat.  A large cast had been placed on her right arm, and a white blanket covered the rest of her body from view.  Smiling slightly in reassurance Kate turned back to the doctor, "Could I have a minute alone with her?"

"Certainly.  I have another patient to visit, so I'll be back in a little bit," he told them both, letting himself out and heading down the hall.

Pulling up the swivel seat next to the bed Mrs. Fleming sat down.  "I think we have a lot to talk about Jake," she began, setting her purse onto the desk nearby. "You'd better start from the beginning."

Nodding her head slightly and looking down at her hands as though she'd written the answer to the seemingly difficult question there Jake took a deep breath, "I guess it all started when I came across the Rawley Academy website..."

**.  .  .**

"So, he was dating Sheryl Price and you didn't even know about it?"  Kate was flabbergasted at the thought that her own son would do such a thing.

"I don't want to be causing problems between you and your son, Mrs. Fleming," Jake stated, pushing herself up into more of a sitting position.  "I just... I just wanted to go home and figure things out."

"Oh, don't worry about me and Hamilton.  We already have our problems, but our relationship always bounces back.  Besides..."

Jas as the door opened, the doctor from earlier popped his head into the room.  "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, we were just chatting," Kate told him, standing up to walk back out into the hall.  "Do you know if my husband is around?"

"Yes, I was speaking to him before I came in.  He's right outside," the doctor replied, watching Mrs. Fleming leave the room.

Sitting with his head tilted back and his eyes closed, Dean Fleming let out a loud huff.  Feeling a hand rubbing his arm tenderly he opened them again, looking into his wife's face.  "A broken arm, one broken leg, a fractured ankle and three broken fingers," he stated, taking Kate's hand in his own.  "Also, a recommendation of very little travel and closely watched care as she recovers.  That, in and of itself, poses a problem in getting her home for the school break."

"Well," Kate began, sitting up straight and contemplating the situation, "I guess there's only one thing we _can_ do."

Steve raised his eyebrows, scrutinizing her.  "That doesn't sound very reassuring.  What have you got up your sleeve now?"

Glaring over at him Kate hit his arm lightly.  "Don't even start Steven Eugene Fleming.  There's only one logical thing for us to do right now and that's to have Jake come and stay with us until she recovers."

The dean looked at the hospital door a bit upset.  "So it _was_ Hamilton's friend.  She's got a whole lot of explaining to do."

"She's already explained it all to me, and don't you dare jump on her case about this."

"Kate..."

"She's a teenager who made a mistake Steve, not a criminal."

Sitting for a moment he considered her words, rubbing his worn eyes.  Standing up and walking toward the lounge he called over his shoulder, "If she's going to be staying with us I guess I'd better go home and make some preparations.  I'll be back in an hour."

Smiling to herself Kate stood back up, walking into Jake's hospital room.  "Change of plans, she told her, taking a seat in the chair near the foot of the bed.  "It looks like you've got a new place to stay during the summer..."

**.  .  .**

"Here we are," Dean Fleming grunted as he set the two suitcases of Jake's down in her new room.

Kate followed closely behind as she pushed the rented wheelchair Jake had been sitting in through the door.  I know this is Hamilton's old room, but Steve put most of his stuff into the attic and if there's anything else that you'd like taken out you can just let us know," she told the young girl, shooing her husband out.  "You've had a long day and it's already late so we'll let you get some rest."  With that Kate headed towards the door.

"Mrs. Fleming?"

"Yes Jake?" she asked, pausing a moment.

Jake smiled, looking over the room, "Thanks.  You know, for everything."

Smiling back, Kate closed the bedroom door quietly, "Good night Jake."

"Night."****


	3. Chapter Three

_*See part one for disclaimer information*_

**~Part Three~**

"Bella!"

Bella spun around to see Jake walking toward the garage.  "Hey, you got your leg cast off!" she stated, picking up the rag that had fallen to the ground and wiping the grease from her hands.

"Yeah, the doctor said the one on my arm can come off at the beginning of next week," she told her friend, finally reaching her and sitting down on a crate next to the truck Bella was working on.

"That's great!  Just in time for the beginning of Spring Semester then," Bella replied, smiling.

Jake returned her smile, handing Bella the wrench that she had pointed to from under the hood of the '78 pickup.  "Yeah, and I can't wait to get back to school.  Kate and Steve have been great and all, but after almost three entire months of bed rest I could really use the vacation."

Bella turned towards her with an amused expression on her face.  "I can't believe you just called going back to school a vacation."

Jakes smile grew wider as she replied, "Neither can I..."

**.  .  .**

"This can't be right..." Dean Fleming muttered to himself as he hit a few more keys on his office computer keyboard.  "Kate!"

A few seconds later Kate poked her head into the room, holding onto the door frame to keep herself from falling in her tilted position, "Yes?'

"How many female students do we have scheduled into late arrival in the dorms?" he asked, pulling up a few more screens.

Walking further into the small office she thought for a moment.  "Let's see...four if you count Mrs. Patterson's daughter," she stated, walking around the desk to look at the computer from over his shoulder.  "Why?"

Rubbing his hands over his chin the dean let out a frustrated breath.  "For some reason we only have three available beds in the dormitories," he said tapping lightly on a few more keys.  "It looks like we'll have to inform Mrs. Patterson so she has enough time to enroll Karen in another boarding school."

"I'm not so sure," Kate seemed a bit hesitant.  "Mrs. Patterson said that this was the first school in six others that Karen agreed to attend.  It might not be so easy to find another one," she countered, leaning over his shoulder and resting her hand on the desk.

"I don't know what other choice we have," Steven replied, pinching his eyes shut and resting his forehead against the palm of his right hand.

Sighing to herself Kate stood back up, trying her best to think of a solution to the problem.  "Wait," she said, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder.  "What if we were to have Jake stay and live with us during the school year?"

Steve's head perked up at this, looking at his wife.

"Of course, she'd have to be okay with it."

"That would certainly eliminate the problems with the rooms..." he was suddenly cut of by the sound of the front door closing.

"I'm back!"

Looking one more time at her husband for agreement, Kate made her way into the hall as she spotted Jake walking passed the foot of the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Jake, could you come here for a moment?" she asked, smiling as the girl peered around the corner.

"What's up?" Jake asked, making her way up the stairs.

"Well, Steven and I wanted to talk to you about something," she replied, leading them both back into the home office.  Coming to stand behind her husband, she looked down at him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Okay, what about?" Jake asked, picking up a stack of papers that was in a nearby chair and sitting down in it, resting the pile on her lap.

"Well," began Dean Fleming, "I was running through the dormitory assignments just a moment ago and came across some rather discouraging information.  It seemed that we'd overbooked the rooms in the girls dormitory and have come up short with the space for one student."

Jake shifted a little in her seat, hoping the dean wasn't heading the way he seemed with the conversation.

"Now, upon examination of this information," he continued, tapping his fingers together, "we came to the conclusion that we had to find a feasible arrangement for all involved."

"What he means to say, Jake," Kate stated, cutting in, "is that we hope you might consider staying with us for the school year, instead of in the dorms."

Both looked expectantly at the girl as she raised her eyebrows, while her lips turned up slowly into a full out grin.  "You want me to live with you?" she asked, almost misbelieving her ears.

Kate returned a warm smile, taking the hand her husband bent up towards her.

"The fact of the matter is, Jacqueline, that things simply wouldn't be the same around her without you," the dean confessed, producing the same crooked smile that always seemed to play on Hamilton's lips.

Jake could almost feel a blush creeping up the back of her neck.  Ever since Hamilton had left she really hadn't felt like _anyone_ cared for her very much.  But now, here was the dean and his wife, asking her to stay.  The emotions that were running through her were practically overwhelming.  "I'd really like that," she told them, standing up and placing the papers back on the chair before walking over and giving Kate a big hug.

Squeezing Jake tight and running a hand over her back, Kate replied, "So would we."


	4. Chapter Four

**_See Part One for disclaimer information._**

**~Part Four~**

"Hamilton?" Sheryl Price sighed, laughing quietly to herself. "Earth to Hamilton..." Grabbing the edge of his sleeve from across the restaurant table and tugging lightly, she brought him out of his far away stare.

"Yeah?" he asked, forcing his eyes upward to meet hers.

Taking a deep breath Sheryl placed her hand in his, tracing along his fingers. "I adore you more than anyone else in this world," she stated, smiling up at him. "You know I do." Hamilton couldn't help the slight blush that crept up his face. She knew she could never get enough of that blush. "Then, when you agreed to come to this school with me, I thought everything would work itself out," she told him, looking down at their joined hands again. "But the fact of the matter is...I can't be in love with someone who's not in love with me."

Hamilton leaned towards her, now fully attentive. "But I do..."

Placing a hand on his chin and brushing her thumb over his lips, Sheryl smiled, "Please don't say something you don't mean."

Looking back towards his hands Hamilton wasn't sure what to say. Over the last year he'd had the perfect relationship, the perfect school, the perfect reputation. Although everything in his life seemed perfect, none of that mattered to him anymore. He didn't have Jake.

Throwing a pained smile on his face he looked up at her, meeting her eyes. It wasn't that he didn't care about Sheryl, she'd been a wonderful friend, but he _would_ be lying if he told her he was in love with her.

"I'm sorry."

Putting on a genuine smile, Sheryl stood up, holding her hand out for him to take, "Being friends means never having to say you're sorry. Just remember that."

Quietly taking her hand Hamilton followed her out of the restaurant they'd gone to for dinner, his thoughts wandering away again.

"You know the funny part is that when I first met you I knew there was something different happening between you and Jake. At first I'd just thought it was because you were best friends. It wasn't until you told me about who she really was a few months ago that I figure out exactly what it was that was special about the two of you," she told him as they both waited for the valet to bring her car around.

Hamilton looked up at her when she'd finished. "There's not...I mean there really isn't anything between the two of us," he stated as the truthfulness of the words sunk their way into his skin even further. He'd left her, and now a future with her really didn't exist.

Raising an eyebrow at him she laughed, "If she feels even half the way about you as you feel about her, there's definitely something there."

Watching her car as it rounded the corner and came to a stop right beside them, Sheryl ignored the droop that came over Hamilton's entire body. Why couldn't he believe that Jake might have feelings for him?

Sliding into her car and waiting for him to get into the passenger's side she glanced into the rear view mirror, taking one last look at he city she'd called home during her junior year of high school. A silent smirk crawled up her lips as Hamilton closed his door and she pulled the car out onto the freeway.

"Where are we going? School's back the other way," Hamilton stated, turning towards her.

Sheryl looked over at him with amusement, "Nope, school's this way."

Hamilton's gaze shifted out through the back window of the car before returning to her. Had she gone certifiably insane?

"I know what you're thinking," she began, laughing, "and I'm not crazy. I just think that Rawley High as gone an entire year without you and now it needs you back." She watched him from the corner of her eye, gauging his reaction.

Staring at her for a split second he began shaking his head back and forth. "How can we be heading to Rawley? All of our stuff is back there," he said, pointing his arm in the opposite direction as his eyebrows raised.

She couldn't help but laugh at him, "Nope, I paid Andrew to pack up all of your stuff and stick it in my trunk."

"You let him touch my stuff?!" Hamilton asked, horrified.

Sheryl just brought up a hand in her defense. "He's your roommate. He always touches your stuff."

"Well, what about enrollment? I should call my dad and make sure they have an opening at the dorms for you," he said, pulling out his cell phone.

"Oh wait, can I borrow that for a second before you call?" Sheryl asked innocently, holding her hand out as she waited for him to hand her the phone.

Sighing he set it in her hand, "Yeah, just make it quick. I want to call before...What are you doing?" he questioned, watching her as she pocketed the phone in the left side of her jeans.

"I already had one of your computer groupie friends hack in and he enrolled both of us, getting a dorm room for me."

"You hacked into my father's data base?"

Looking over at him she rolled her eyes, "Jake does it and it's amusing, I do it and it's a crime."

"It's not..." Hamilton closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath. "Can I please have my phone back then?"

Seeming to contemplate his request for a minute, Sheryl finally shook her head. "No."

"Why not?"

Sheryl bit her lips to keep from laughing at the confused boy sitting next to her. "Because...there was another reason that you were going to call your Mom, and you're not getting out of this trip that easily."

Huffing to himself, Hamilton folded his arms in front of him. "Well, what would be the point of going back if she's not even a student there anymore?"

He was pouting! Oh, how she loved those sexy pouts of his! "The point of going back is to find her and straighten things out. Even if we end up driving to New York."

Placing his head in his hands, Hamilton squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to sort everything out. "Okay, so you just broke up with me, we're taking an impromptu trip back to my home town, and if the opportunity should present itself, you, for some reason only the devil himself would know, would be willing to drive me all the way to New York just to settle things with Jake?! Who are you and what have you done with Sheryl?" he asked, half believing she really was some pod person, taken over by aliens.

After a moment of silence she just shrugged, looking over at him. "What can I say? I like playing matchmaker."

**. . .**

The door to the Fleming house opened slowly, letting a small stream of light enter in from the street. Slipping into the hallway, Jacqueline tiptoed quietly to the foot of the stairs.

"You're in passed your curfew."

Freezing where she stood Jake walked back into the living room, mentally chiding herself for getting caught. Flopping down into a chair she turned towards Kate, preparing herself for the blow. "How deep am I in?"

Resting her chin onto one of her palms, Kate stared at the girl for a moment. "A lot less since Steven has an early morning and has already gone to bed, not to mention that Bella's dad called to let me know you were over there."

"So...how bad we talking here?" she asked, holding her breath as she waited for the verdict.

Kate never could seem to place a proper punishment on the girl. "Consider yourself off the hook, but next time I want the call to be coming from you. Got it?"

Nodding and quietly thanking Charlie, Jake stood up, waiting to make sure that Mrs. Fleming didn't have anything else she wanted to talk to her about.

"Good night Jake."

"Night."

After brushing her teeth and washing her face Jake went into her room, stripping down before hopping into bed. The summer weather was still hovering over the little town, and the less that was worn at night the better.

Sighing to herself she let her thoughts wander as her eyelids drifted down, lulling her to sleep.

. . .

It was a six hour drive to New Rawley, and since Sheryl and Hamilton hadn't left the restaurant until just after 8:00pm it wasn't until 2:30 in the morning that they'd finally pulled up in front of his house. About the only thing they'd talked about the entire way there was the fact that Hamilton thought it was a bad idea to even be driving there in the first place.

"Well, here we are," she stated, putting the car into park. "I'll be over tomorrow morning to make sure you got settled in and everything."

Hamilton simply nodded his head as he stared toward his house. Sighing deeply he finally pulled on the door handle, opening the passenger side door and stepping out as Sheryl popped the trunk for him. It didn't take long for him to pull the two suitcases of his out of the trunk and head up the walkway. Just as he reached the door he turned around, waving for her to take off. He could do this.

Shaking her head and flipping her car back towards the school, Sheryl sighed. "Five days..."

Once Hamilton was inside he set his suitcases down by the door. He wouldn't need them until tomorrow and he really didn't want to take the chance of knocking them into something while he walked through the dark house.

He had to admit that he was somewhat happy to be home. Not one time since he'd left over a year ago had he been back. Any vacation spent with his parents was spent away from New Rawley.

Walking to his bedroom door and opening it a crack he peered in, barely making out the bed. His mom had called and told him a while ago that a few things had been rearranged and he didn't want to be tripping over anything when he flopped down in bed. Just as he began heading back out into the hallway he looked into his bedroom again, focusing his eyes. There was a lump under his blankets...

Sighing as he headed straight for the bathroom, Hamilton shook his head. "I can't believe Mom is letting the dogs in the house again."  
  
As soon as he'd finished getting ready for bed he sauntered into his room and quietly made his way under the covers, careful not to wake up the dog. It was going to be a big enough headache dealing with his lazy pet tomorrow morning.  He really didn't want to have to deal with her tonight. Tonight he wanted to sleep.


	5. Chapter Five

**~Part Five~**

Jake's eyes flittered open as she felt the bed shift next to her.  This was either an extremely vivid dream...or she wasn't alone.  Hearing a deep breath being slowly released from the body lying next to her, she threw herself off of the bed, tangling her legs in the sheets and landing on the floor with a loud thud.  Swearing as she propped herself up on her elbows, Jake raised a hand to rub the back of her head where she'd bumped it on her way down.

Just as Hamilton was settling in for the night he felt movement in the bed and barely opened his eyes in time to see a bundle under the sheets flip onto the floor.  He almost groaned at the thought of his hyper dog attacking him with a happy wag of its tail in a matter of moments, but felt his breathing stop as he caught the sound of quiet cursing coming from the floor where the pile had fallen.  That voice...he _knew_ that voice.

Peering slowly over the edge of the mattress, a large lump formed in Hamilton's throat.  A very shocked-looking Jake was staring up at him, her wide eyes reflecting the moonlight that was filtering in through the slit in the curtains.

"KATE!!!"

"MOM!!!"

"What are you doing in my bed?" Jake asked harshly, desperately trying to pull the sheet off of the mattress to cover herself with.

"What?" Hamilton stammered, still too shocked at finding her in his room and his bed, no less, to decipher her question.

Pushing herself up off of the floor, Jake clutched the sheet around her tightly.  "Why are you in my bed?!" she repeated, quickly scurrying to a set of drawers on the opposite wall and grabbing some clothes out as the door flew open and light from the hallway flooded the room.

"Jacqueline, what's...Hamilton!?"

Slipping passed Kate and walking to the bathroom, Jake turned around and glared at her.  "I can't believe you never told him!" she huffed, before slamming the door and locking it.

Finally finding his voice again, Hamilton looked at his mother.  "What is she doing here?" he asked, horrified as his eyes traveled around the room.  "AND WHY ARE MY WALLS PINK?!!"

**.  .  .**

Bella groaned and threw her pillow on top of her head, desperately trying to drown out the knocking she decided could only be coming from the deep recesses of her warped mind.  It couldn't have been much passed 3 o'clock in the morning and she had to head over to the gas station early to help out.  No one in their right mind would be waking her up now...everyone that knew her valued their lives.

Coming to grips with the fact that the insistent knocking wouldn't end unless the owner of the hand was let into the room, Bella dropped her feet onto the floor, pausing a moment, before dragging herself up.  "This better be good," she grumbled as she threw open the door.

Jake stood in the hallway, her arms wrapped tightly around her childhood best friend with a small backpack resting on her left shoulder.  She looked up as the door opened, silent tears streaming down her cheeks and a searing expression on her face.

"What happened?!" Bella asked concerned, pulling Jake into the room and closing the door behind her after spotting the stuffed bear trapped beneath her friend's arms.  If Mr. Babbs was involved, this couldn't be good.

Collapsing on the empty bed just across from Bella's, Jake stared up at the ceiling, swallowing to stay calm.  When she finally spoke, Bella felt her face flush with anger.

"He's back."

**.  .  .**

Hamilton lay awake, glaring at the ceiling.

It hadn't taken long for Jake to gather the few things she needed for the morning and ask his dad to let her into the girls' dormitories.  What he found odd was how quickly his father agreed.  Even more strange was the fact that Jake had been living in his house - for over a year - and he'd had no idea.  He couldn't imagine the strict, unwavering man he'd been raised by allowing a girl who'd deceived the entire school for so long to stay enrolled there, let alone live under his own roof!

It was like he was reliving an episode of the Twilight Zone; he could almost hear the narrator's description of events unfolding in the background as he lay helpless to play them out.

His mother wasn't any help in the matter either, telling him they'd talk in the morning and closing his bedroom door while he was in the middle of asking her a question.  As far as he was concerned it _was_ morning, and he had the right to know.  The only thing that kept him from storming his parents' room was the fact that he knew his dad wouldn't be too happy about it, and would probably expel him out of spite.  That is if his father was actually in there somewhere...

Flipping onto his side he groaned, stopping himself from taking in a deep breath.  He couldn't sleep in that room; everything smelled like Jake, looked like Jake, reminded him of Jake.  He'd be staring up at the ceiling all night if he didn't leave.

Walking out into the hallway he searched the linen closet for an extra blanket and pillow.  Grabbing a set off of the top shelf, he made his way out into the living room, flopping down onto the couch.  "And all I wanted was to get some sleep," Hamilton snorted to himself, throwing an arm above his head.  This was going to be one very long night...

**~TBC~**


	6. Chapter Six

**~Part Six~**

A few stray sunrays were peeking over the east hills of New Rawley as Bella rummaged through the top drawer of her desk. "Come on, come on. Where are you?" A light tap came to the door just as she'd pulled out a set of keys in triumph.  Glancing over at the bed that Jake was still curled up in she hurried over to the door, not wanting to wake her friend up. After all, she had just fallen asleep perhaps an hour before.

Pulling open the door, Bella came face to face with a tall blond girl, holding two suitcases in her arms. "Can I help you?" she asked quietly, poking her head out.

"Room 214?" the girl asked, knowingly.

"Until further notice," she replied back, smiling.

Finally allowing her suitcases to drop, the girl from the hall held out a hand to Bella. "Sheryl Price. I'm your new roommate."

Turning abruptly to look at the sleeping form in the spare bed, Bella shuffled quietly into the hall, closing the door behind her. "New roommate?" she asked, folding her arms in front of her. "I thought I wasn't getting a roommate this semester."

"Well, here I am," Sheryl replied, looking slightly amused that they were both standing in the hall talking, instead of in their dorm room.

Leaning back against the wall next to the door, Bella smiled.  "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. I wasn't expecting a roommate. I'm Bella Banks."

Sheryl let her own smile touch her face, "I know. Hamilton has some pictures he took of some of his friends that you're in."

Standing up straighter, Bella dropped her arms to her side. What could she possibly have to do with him? "How do you know Hamilton?"

"Well," Sheryl said, "he came with me last year to go to school at Bakersfield."

Realization suddenly hit Bella, making her seem a bit more flustered than she had been just moments ago. "You're _that_ Sheryl?"

Grimacing slightly at the phrase, the girl nodded her head lightly. "That's not the general consensus around campus, is it?" she asked, looking somewhat hopeful.

"Umm…I didn't mean that…"

"No, it's okay," Sheryl said, picking her bags up and moving towards the room. "I figured things were going to be difficult when we got here."

Bella blocked the doorway, putting both hands up against the frames. "I know that this sounds crazy," she said, doing her best not to blame the girl in front of her for what had happened the night before, "but you can't go in there."

Sheryl raised her eyebrows, wondering if rooming with Jake's friend had been such a good idea. "If there's a problem with me rooming with you..."

"No," Bella cut her off. "It's just that there's someone in there right now that I'm sure you'd rather not meet at the moment...and I don't think she'd want to be meeting you right now either - under the circumstances."

"Okaaay…care to elaborate?" Sheryl asked, setting her bags back down.

"Uhh," Bella wasn't sure how exactly to explain the risk this girl would be taking should chose the inevitable 'door number three'. "Want to take a walk into town?"

Shrugging her shoulders Sheryl just laughed. "Sure, I've got somewhere I have to stop at anyway. But I don't think that my bags can hold up here in the hall."

"Right." Looking down at the suitcases, Bella opened the door quietly and picked them up, setting them both down on the floor and sliding them carefully under the bed Jake was sleeping on, hoping they wouldn't be noticed. Walking back out into the hallway and shutting the door again, she headed down the hall next to Sheryl. How did she end up in these messes?

. . .

Bella was lost in thought as she pulled her truck into the garage of the gas station her father owned. According to Sheryl, Hamilton was back for senior year. Even more importantly, he was back because of Jake.

She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. Spending the last year loathing him on Jake's behalf made her weary of him. But if it was coming directly from Sheryl, who seemed to really care about him…

She just wasn't sure.

Opening the driver's side door and stepping out, she spotted Will heading over from the dinner, decked out in his blue Friendly's uniform shirt and a pair of tan khakis. Will never seemed to take sides on the issue one way or the other.  He was good friends with Jake, but she knew he had been good friends with Hamilton as well.

"Hey Will."

"Hey," he acknowledged her with a nod of his head. "Working today?" he asked, sticking his hands in his pockets and dropping lazily onto the bench just outside of the front door to the gas station.

"Yeah, you?" she asked, sitting down next to him and slouching in a similar manner to the way he'd just done.

"Yep. I've got about fifteen minutes until my shift starts, so I thought I'd come over and bug you for a minute." He tilted his head back against the window, closing his eyes and letting himself enjoy the serenity of the quiet Sunday morning.

Bella looked over at him, wondering if she should talk to him about what had happened in the last few hours. It wasn't like he wouldn't find out soon enough anyway...

"Will?"

"Hmm?" he asked, keeping his head tilted back.

"I need your advice on something," she stated, turning towards him and resting her left arm on the back of the bench seat.

Will opened his eyes, giving her his full attention as his head tilted towards her. "Okay, shoot."

"Well," she began, running a hand slowly through her hair, "I ran into Hamilton's girlfriend this morning."

"What?" Will asked, sitting up straighter on the bench.

Bella sighed, resting her head onto the palm of her left hand.  "That's pretty much what I thought this morning too when she told me just outside of our dorm room."

"Wait a second, _our_ dorm room? As in the two of you are now _sharing_ a room?"

"Yeah," she answered, nodding her head. "My first year at Rawley and I end up sharing a room with my best friend's worst enemy, and the hardest part about it _is_ that I actually like her."

Will smirked at that, "Guess you didn't exactly expect her to be a decent person."

"It's not really that," she replied, sighing. "It's just that she's always been the reason that Jake went through what she did last summer, regardless of whether or not it was intentional. It kind of fell under the category of best friend loyalty, I guess."

Nodding his head, Will sat back again. "So, does this mean Hamilton is back too?" he asked, curiously.

Bella groaned, dropping her head onto her shoulder. "Yeah, he's back...and it's not just because he wanted to go to Rawley for his senior year."

"What other reason could there be?" 

Closing her eyes, Bella laughed without humor. "He's back for Jake."

Will took all of this in silently for a moment.  "So your question would then be…?" he finally prompted.

Running a hand through her blonde hair, Bella sighed.  "Well, Sheryl wants my help in getting them back together."

"Wow, she actually had the guts to ask you that?  I'm impressed," he replied, smiling.

"Yeah, well I'm betting she plans on asking all of us.  So I'd expect a visit from her soon, if I were you.  I just don't know what I should do."

Glancing down at his watch, Will stood back up.  "I've gotta get back, my shift is up."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then," Bella replied, standing as well and heading towards the door to the gas station entrance.

"Oh, one other thing." Will said, turning around.

"Yeah?"

"Why is Sheryl okay with all of this?" he asked, confused.

Bella paused at the door, opening her mouth and then closing it once more.  She had no idea…

**. . .**

Sheryl strode quickly up the walkway to the Fleming home, anxiously ringing the doorbell a few times. This could not be happening right now. It wasn't as though she expected Hamilton and Jacqueline's first meeting to be wonderful, but she'd certainly expected it to go better than it obviously had. Almost immediately the door swung open, Hamilton standing in the doorway, extremely tired and beyond flustered.

"Rough night?" she asked, knowing precisely the answer to her question without him having to tell her. 

Hamilton glared at her for a moment before turning around and walking back into the living room, plopping down on the messy makeshift bed he'd been attempting to sleep on.

"Why is it that when you get crazy ideas into your head, you always drag me along for the ride?"

"Hey!" Sheryl replied, indignantly. "I do not get crazy ideas into my head...that often. Besides, I don't think this 'crazy idea' would even be in my head if you hadn't run away last year to go to school with me," she pointed out.

Throwing an arm over his eyes, Hamilton sighed. "You're right. If it weren't for me we wouldn't even be in this mess...which is why I have to fix it."

Sheryl smiled, sitting down in the chair across from him. "Good to know you see it my way."

"I might see it your way a little bit better if my walls weren't a lovely shade of cotton candy," he stated with a tinge of sarcasm.

A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "You're kidding."

"Nope, straight out of a man's worst nightmare."

Laughing at the humor of it all, Sheryl sunk down further into the cushions.  "I'm sure this won't be as bad as you think."

Hamilton raised his eyebrows at her. "Yeah, well you haven't seen what she's done to my room..."

~TBC~

**_Author's Note:_**_  Okay, I promise more Jake/Hamilton involvement here soon…I know you're all craving it.  ;)  Oh, and for anyone interested in seeing it, I finally made a banner and you can find it here:  http://www.geocities.com/yacrusader/shafdbanner04.jpg_


	7. Chapter Seven

**Part Seven**

Jake groaned as she pulled her blanket up over her head and flopped onto her stomach, trying to drown out the midday sunlight that was filtering in from the window. She didn't care if it _was_ noon...she wasn't ready to wake up yet.

Sighing as her cell phone began to ring, she reached down, pulling it from her bag and bringing it under the blankets to her ear. "Hello?" she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep.

"Hey there beautiful," a clear, masculine voice replied from the other end of the line.

A small smile lit up Jake's face as she sat up, brushing the hair out of her eyes with her free hand. "Hey," she answered, clearing her throat. "Are you back? I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time for the start of the semester tomorrow."

"Well," he began, pausing for a moment, "I just got in and I was heading over to meet Cathy and Brad for lunch in about fifteen minutes or so. I thought you might like to join me."

Jake looked down at herself, running a hand through her hair as she took in her disheveled state. "I really would like to, but I haven't even rolled out of bed yet. I'm a total mess."

"Ah, come on. I haven't seen you since I left," he countered smoothly.

"Justin..."

"What if we left in forty-five minutes?" he asked, as she dropped back onto her pillow.

Shutting her eyes and letting out a deep breath, she reluctantly gave in. "Okay, I'll meet you in front of the school."

"No need, I can swing by the dean's place."

"No, I uh..." she paused a moment, forcing herself to shrug off the previous night's emotions, "I camped out in Bella's dorm room last night."

A pleased tone came over his voice, "Perfect timing, I'd say. I'll see you soon then, Jackie."

"Yeah."

Turning off her phone and tossing it back into her bag, Jake stood up, throwing the blankets off of her legs. After all, just because she'd had a rough night, that didn't mean she should lock herself up for the rest of the day, did it?

Grabbing her backpack off of the floor and walking out of the door, her resolve was set. She wasn't going to let Hamilton get to her.

But first...she really needed to shower.

**. . .**

A few minutes after the noise from the shower receded, Hamilton stepped out of the bathroom wearing a pair of faded blue jeans, running a towel vigorously through his wet hair. Without warning a dark blue t-shirt pelted him in the head, falling limply to the floor at his feet.

"Hey!"

"Hurry up, I'm starving...and I don't want to become a victim of your mom's cooking when she gets back from the school and finds us here," Sheryl told him, pulling a set of keys from her purse.

"It's not my fault that we're leaving late," Hamilton mumbled, tossing his wet towel onto the bathroom floor. "If you hadn't insisted on hearing every little detail about what happened last night from twenty different vantage points, and then given me a lecture on the 'dos' and 'don'ts' of how to treat Jake now that I'm back, we'd already be gone."

"Ho, ho!" Sheryl said, crossing her arms. "Two can play at that game, if you really want me to go into the 'whys' right now. I don't mind. We can even talk about how much you love the new style of your room, or your cozy couch-bed. There are plenty of things we can discuss to kill time until your mom shows up."

"So, how's your new roommate?" Hamilton asked, quickly changing the subject and hurrying faster to tie the laces on his shoes.

Sheryl hid the smile on her face. "She's...great. Just the kind of person you can be good friends with."

"Cool. So, you think you'll get along okay?"

"We'd better, or it's going to be a really long week."

Standing up, he led her out the door. "Friendly's?"

Pushing him toward her car, she smirked.

"Definitely."

**. . .**

Stepping out of the gas station, Bella rubbed her neck, massaging the sore muscles there. She must have spent at least half of her morning under the hoods of old, broken down New Rawley vehicles. It may have been a great way to turn a profit for her family's business, but with her dad being out of town for a good portion of the summer and then again all day today, it was a bit overwhelming. She was just glad that he'd be back tomorrow in time for the start of the new school year.

At least Grace hadn't run off somewhere for the day...yet.

Leaning against one of the pump stations and biting her lip, she contemplated for the fifth time whether or not she should head over to Friendly's in the pretense of getting some lunch. Hamilton and Sheryl had dropped in only twenty minutes earlier, and she knew it would be better if she could just give Sheryl an answer about helping her and be done with the whole thing. The only problem was...she wasn't quite sure yet that her answer was no.

It took her a few moments to register the flashy blue Mercedes that had pulled into a parking space across the street. By the time she came back to herself, Justin and Jake were already walking through the door of the small cafe.

Feeling a large pit forming in her stomach, Bella rushed into the gas station and yelled up to her sister to come out front and watch for customers, ignoring her cries of indignation as she ran quickly over to Friendly's.

As the bell tinkled over the open door, her eyes focused in the dim lighting just in time to see Justin pulling his arm out of Jake's grasp and begin heading toward the back booth where Hamilton was sitting with his back turned. Sheryl was currently immersed in a menu across from him and didn't appear to have noticed the angry teenager stomping in their direction either.

Seeing the mixed look of fury and dread on her best friend's face, Bella did the first thing she could think of.

"Justin!" she called pleasantly, pushing passed other customers to come to a halt right in front of the scowling boy and stopping him halfway from his intended destination. Now that she had his attention, she grappled for something to say.

"I umm...I noticed that your car was making a slight...humming noise when you pulled in, so I came over to let you know," she lied quickly, pushing a stray strand of hair nervously behind her ear.

Rolling his eyes, Justin sneered. "I didn't notice any noise, Bella. You're blocking my way. Move."

Undeterred, she continued on pleasantly, "Well, it's always harder to hear when you're inside the car. Why don't you bring it over to the gas station and I'll have a look at it really quick. On the house," she added, hoping that it might help. She smiled up at him, doing her best to look oblivious to what was going on.

"I'll come later."

"That wouldn't work. I...have appointments later. I'm really only free for another thirty minutes or so. And, you know, it's always better to have it checked out when it's just started. Otherwise, the longer you leave it the more chance you'll have of..."

"Here are my keys then," he said, pulling them from his pocket and shoving them into her hand. "Go take care of it."

Giving him a long stare and holding in her mounting frustration, Bella changed tactics. "Listen Justin, Jake really doesn't need this right now. If you go over there and pick a fight with him, it will just make it worse for her."

"You're right on one thing, Jackie really _doesn't_ need this right now. What she needs is someone who will take care of her problem...Him," he growled, nodding his head in Hamilton's direction.

"Just let her take care of it in her own way. She's a big girl and she doesn't need you playing the hero right now."

Shaking his head, Justin snorted. "And she calls you her best friend. What a laugh! If you really cared you'd know what she wants and help, not just stand there and pretend he'll go away." He leaned in slightly and dropped his voice so only she could hear, "Now, for the last time...move out of my way townie or I'll move you myself."

The pure disgust she was feeling at that moment must have shown darkly on her face because moments later Jake was slipping her hand into Justin's, standing in between the two of them.

"We're going to Fannie's for lunch instead, okay? Come on," she said quietly, hoping that she wouldn't be heard by Hamilton, but unwilling to look over to find out if his attention had been drawn to them already.

Bella watched as Jake pushed Justin toward the door and smiled briefly back at her to show her gratitude for trying to help. She returned her smile weakly, and watched until they drove away.

"So, I take it Justin Caldwell is dating Jacqueline at present."

Bella jumped, spinning around to glare at Sheryl. "I would really appreciate it if you didn't do that."

"Sorry," she said, smiling apologetically. "Bad habit."

Bella turned back to face the window and stood there for another moment, thinking to herself before addressing Sheryl once more.

"Well, he was right about one thing," she mumbled. "I shouldn't just be standing here. I've known what she's wanted since Hamilton left...and like it or not, I can't pretend he's going away."

Sheryl waited quietly, watching as Bella's resolve hardened.

"I'll help you."

"Thank you."


End file.
